


Between the Lines

by justyouraverageperson000



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:13:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24366358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justyouraverageperson000/pseuds/justyouraverageperson000
Summary: Lillian Dumbledore was constantly living in her adoptive grandfather's shadow, always trying to prove her worth. When secrets of her parentage are revealed for the whole school to see, she has no choice but to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament alongside the brother she never knew she had.Hannah Potter may be "The Girl Who Died", but she is Lillian Dumbledore, a survivor. She will show them all.(eventual Draco/OC)
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, and stay safe during this pandemic!

The sound of crying babies was more than enough to make Albus Dumbledore grimace as he entered the battered home. The windows had shattered, leaving clear shards sprinkled over the broken tables and lamps.

It was obvious that the Potters had retaliated to their last breath, Dumbledore mused, as he stepped into the living room, noting the corpse of James Potter, eyes wide and shoulders heaved, on the ground. His blood was smeared in the carpet, most likely from falling on broken pieces of furniture, and the steely yet rotten aroma caused the headmaster's nostrils to burn. He would've shed a few tears at the sight if he was the man he was decades ago, but years of putting the prosperity of the wizarding world above everything made one see the necessity of sacrifice for the greater good. And although Dumbledore didn't trust Severus, he had informed him that Voldemort was gone, once and for all, defeated by the Potter boy, and that was arguably the greatest good one could lay their life down for.

Deciding to follow the strained screeching of the infants, knowing that it would lead him to Harry, he was led into a smaller room. Noticing Snape hunched on the floor, another man's wife in his arms, and wailing, Dumbledore gave him space and focused on the crying children.

Walking up to the crib and grasping the bars as he bent down to meet the twins at eye level, he was surprised that the girl, Hannah Potter, stopped crying in his presence. She gurgled and giggled, reaching out her pale, chubby fingers to pull at his long beard. Careful not to wake Harry up, he hesitantly reached out his hands and hoisted Hannah into his arms, his heart warming when she squealed in delight as he spun her around. He rocked her around for some more time, trying to give Severus his time with Lilly, but finally, once he felt that it was time, he asked Snape to exit the room for a moment after putting the baby down.

Without the grieving death eater, the room was quite silent, Harry's peaceful snores providing Dumbledore with the concentration he needed. Putting his hand in his robe pocket, he pulled out the vial he had prepared to enact his spells. He slowly walked over to Lily, who was still warm from Severus' touch, poured the liquid onto her body, and watched as it evaporated off her corpse and suspended in the air.

Dumbledore pulled out his wand. "Vestigium Pensivia," he whispered, focusing all of his magic into this one spell. He sighed in relief as the evaporated potion particles started to whirl around in the room, signaling that it worked. He stepped back, sat down on the floor, his back against a wall and his feet crossed, and closed his eyes, allowing magic to take over.

He was greeted by darkness, and suddenly, he lurched backwards and was put into a vision; the vision that would infiltrate his mind with the truth and allow Dumbledore to relive the events that had unfolded that night.

* * *

The first thing he noticed, before he even opened his eyes, was the infectious laughter in another room. Dumbledore frowned. They were so happy, unknowing that a tragedy was about to occur any minute, even going as far as to keep their wands in the nursery behind the cribs. He shook his head at their too trusting nature, but then again, he himself had trusted Sirius. A miscalculation he had not expected. Black was unwaveringly loyal to the Potters, so loyal that Dumbledore couldn't fathom why he betrayed them.

He wondered, though, if this was for the best. His plans for Harry once he was older was for Harry to aid him in squashing all traces left of Voldemort and the man himself, that is, if he somehow inserted himself back into the narrative, which most likely would happen as there was no trace of Voldemort's body anywhere. Would Lily and James Potter, had they survived, allowed their child to fight such a weighted battle at such a young age? Even though there was a prophecy, he doubted it.

It was easy for Dumbledore to get lost in his thoughts, especially when he had a lot on his mind from an eventful day, but the sound of screaming snapped him out of it.

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" James shouted.

Lily Potter stormed into the nursery, a twin held at each hip, and placed the shrieking children in their angel white crib. She then started to barricade the room, frantically throwing boxes and large items into the doorway. Not even attempting to hide her tears that dripped to her neck, she scooped up her twins and rocked them, trying hard to contain her screams of agony at the sound of a large thud she knew was her husband's body and the mechanical laughter that followed.

Voldemort walked into the room, moving the chairs and boxes blocking his path with the swish of his wand. Lily, eyes wide and breathing shallow, placed her twins in the crib at the sight of him.

Dumbledore's frown deepened at the sight of his former student. Tom had always been such a clever boy growing up, but his thirst for power combined with his childhood had made him go astray. The headmaster instinctively reached into his robe, clutching the metallic object in the bottom of his pocket that could change the outcome of the future. He knew that all it took was a few turns from his -stolen- time turner, and he could prevent Riddle from ever knowing of the wizarding world, maybe even go as far as to erase his existence. But these things, if tampered with, would change the future in ways he didn’t want to imagine.

His musings were, once again, interrupted by screams, screams that made the hair on his arms stand up, screams that made him belittle himself for getting lost in his thoughts when he was supposed to get answers.

"Please no, not Harry. Please don't take him away from me," Lily pleaded, thrusting her hands out and protectively standing in front of her children.

Voldemort scoffed. "Step aside foolish woman, and I will spare your life."

Lily didn't waver, but instead, she continued to beg, "Please, have mercy. Take my life instead of his," she implored, clasping her fingers together and biting her lip to keep herself from screaming.

"This is your last chance," the Dark Lord warned, raising his wand, "Step aside."

Her unfaltering resolve to stay by her son made him shake his head. "Avada kedavra," he roared, and with the violent flick of his wrist he took her life and added it to the list of names who wouldn't survive to see his purification of the wizarding world.

Lily Potter collapsed onto the ground, causing her son to stand up in his crib, watching the spectacle before him. Harry seemed to think it was a game, perhaps he thought it was his father under the hood, and he started to giggle. Watching the memory Dumbledore gasped and tried to ignore the dread in his heart.

Voldemort cackled at the boy, effectively shutting the infant up, and walked over to the crib. Realizing that this man was not James Potter prompted Harry to wail, but his sister stayed indifferent and continued to play with her toys.

Perplexed, the Dark Lord picked Hannah Potter up in his arms. "What shall I do with you? It's your brother I want. Although, taking you out of this world will be a favor," he said, putting the girl down away from her twin. "I know first hand the pain of being an orphan, so I will kill you first, to spare you the sight of seeing your brother die in front of you." He laughed, and congratulated himself, exclaiming, "I am already so merciful, aren't I? The world will remember you as the girl their master had mercy on!"

He turned to the boy, jutting his wand into his forehead. "You, on the other hand, will never live to defeat me. No one can touch me now," he shouted.

Dumbledore forced himself to train his eyes on the events that happened next. He watched as Harry crawled towards his sister in fear, loosely placing his right hand in front of Hannah protectively, almost as if she was his favorite toy and he was making sure no one snatched her out of his fingers. "Crawl away little boy, let go of your sister," he demanded, but when the infant didn't move Voldemort raised his wand, and smirked, "Avada Kedavra," aiming to kill them both at once.

The Dark Lord's gloating demeanor changed the second the stream of green energy that came in contact with Harry's forehead bounced back instead of piercing through him and his sister. Volemort's eyes bulged out of his skull, and he screamed, but then, all of a sudden, he vanished.

Dumbeldore groaned, slapping his palm on his forehead, as the vision turned to black. There was no trace of his body; there was absolutely nothing. As the magic drained from the surroundings and the vision started to slowly shift back to reality once again, the headmaster stood up, brushing his hands on his knees, and brought his wand out again.

"Appare Vestigium," he chanted, stepping back as specs of gold made a path for him to follow. There were only two direct lines: one connecting the dead mother to her son, and the other connecting said son to his sister.

There must be some sort of protection Lily placed onto Harry, he thought, pacing the room. Since the lines were identical, the same type of protection must have been placed on Harry by Lily and on Hannah by Harry, but Dumbeldore couldn't pinpoint exactly what. He knew it was obviously a wandless and nonerbal protection, as Harry couldn't possibly know anything of the sort, and so he focused on physical similarities instead.

He sat there and thought for a long time, even letting Severus back in once all traces of his tampering had disappeared. Finally, he had figured it out. "Old magic!" he exclaimed, and he knew then, at that moment, what this all meant, and how it all tied together.

He kept this information to himself, though, and stored it for later, deciding to go to the crib and watch the still sleeping twins cuddle each other instead. Hannah, a few seconds after he walked over, opened her eyes, smiling at the sight of him. And even though it felt as if everything was getting thrown into his face with no possible solution, Dumbledore found it in him to smile back.

* * *

After a few hours of thinking, and once Dumbledore felt as if he had given the mourning Death Eater enough time, he re-enchanted the home to make sure they were left alone for a little bit more time before calling Severus over to the Potter's destroyed living room. He then proceeded to explain what they were going to do with Harry, which was taking him to a living relative with Lily Potter's blood in them and having them take him in willingly to provide protection.

Snape, face covered in dried tears, looked up at the man who had taken pity on him once he had finished listening carefully. "And the girl?" he asked after a few seconds.

"Ah, yes, I forgot to mention her didn't I? Unfortunately, Lily Potter's sacrifice was for Harry, not Hannah, and therefore Hannah will be unprotected. At first I thought that Hannah must simply go with Harry to any living relative on their mother's side, and once they are willingly taken in, the sacrifice for Harry will protect both twins and all those living in the home. The more I thought of it, though, I realized it couldn't be that simple."

At the man's raised eyebrow, Dumbledore laughed, his signature twinkle returning into his eyes. "With age I assume that I become wiser, but with the way you look at me it seems that I am growing three heads."

Severus, who looked uncomfortable, opened his mouth to apologize, but the Hogwarts Headmaster laughed some more and informed him he was simply joking. "Now, where was I?" he spoke to himself, pressing his left pointer finger onto his temple, "Ah, there we go. There was a link of magic between Harry and Hannah almost identical to the one between Harry and his mother. For some reason, Harry became a barrier to Voldemort's killing curse, and shielded his sister." Dumbeldore tried to remain as aloof as possible as to how he knew these things, not wanting to mention that he used illegal spells and practices.

"Because Harry did not die for Hannah," he continued, pausing for a deep breath, "But attempted to sacrifice his life, as unknowing as it was, his sacrifice for his sister will override the one made by his mother, causing his relatives to be in danger. Because of this, the twins must be separated."

"Where will she go?" Snape asked. Mumbling to himself he noted, "She has Lily's eyes."

"She does indeed Severus," Dumbeldore smiled, clasping the other man's back when he looked up in surprise from being heard, "Which is why I want you to do something for me. Make Lily proud."

"Anything," he whispered.

"I want you to help me fabricate the girl's death." The headmaster held in his laughter at the man's dumbfounded expression, and continued, "No one in their right mind would allow the twins to be separated, unless they knew about the protections placed on these children, however, I do not think it's wise to inform just anyone of this information, as it could get into the wrong hands."

"And how exactly are we going to pull this off?" the double agent asked, eyes widening slightly when Dumbledore pulled out his golden time turner.

"When we go back in time, to right after the events unfolded, I want you to snatch the baby up and come right back, before Hagrid has time to spot us, and we will apparate to your home and pretend this never happened," he explained, relieved that the man hadn't asked to go back in time and save the Potter's instead.

"And what will you say when people ask where she came from, why she looks just like Lily Potter and has the same name as her dead daughter?" Snape skeptically questioned, running his pale hands through his gelled down locks. "There are many things to think about. Will she know of her family? Will the boy also be kept in the dark that he has a sister? Will she know the truth? What will we tell her when she has questions?"

"I'm glad you care so much of her, and want to be a part of her life," Dumbledore said, smiling as Severus scowled and tried to look nonchalant, "But don't worry about such trivial things. I have thought everything through, don't worry. But I do need you to promise me something. Never tell the girl the truth about who she is, not until I give you permission to do so. Just like Harry, Hannah shouldn't be exposed to this much as a child. Can you imagine? Famous for something that you don't even remember."

"Why?" he whispered, not once breaking eye contact with the headmaster, "Why are you doing this?"

"Life's joy is in the unplanned decisions we make Severus. The girl will need protection. I am almost certain that the Dark Lord will rise again, and he will know who she is, and most likely will inform his followers as well." He paused, and took in a deep breath, eyes softening as he exhaled. "I feel a pull towards her. I know, somehow, that this is the decision that I need to make."

* * *

No one questioned Dumbledore when he walked into Hogwarts a few days later, a giggling infant attached to his hip, and started to build an extra room in his chambers. He had told them all that he had found the poor girl in the mess the death eater's had made and had taken pity on her. He didn't want another orphanage incident, he explained.

The young girl, whom Dumbledore and Severus decided to rename Lillian Dumbledore in her mother's honor, grew up surrounded by teachers and students of the infamous castle. But as she got older, she had increasingly more and more questions of her real parents. She wasn't stupid, Lillian understood that neither Snape nor Dumbeldore were her father, as the former was her godfather and the latter was too old. She had questions, and Dumbeldore's evasive answers and Snape's refusal to say anything at all were adding fuel to her fire.

On Lillian's tenth birthday, the 31st of July, her godfather and her grandfather threw her a party. Since it was summer, the castle was vacant, so they sat down a week prior and listened as Lillian excitedly chittered out her guest list. Once the letters were written and sent, Dumbelore decided to go and question his granddaughter regarding possible birthday gifts.

He smiled as he climbed up the stairs, remembering how each year Lilly insisted that she wanted nothing, that her place in his castle and family was more than enough. Knocking at her door, he made his way in at Lillian's shout to come in.

He laughed at the state she was in, her apron covered with green and blue splatters in her attempt to paint the Black Lake. She sheepishly smiled, trying to cover up the mess she had made, but he simply shook his head and sat on her bed.

"You're turning ten aren't you? Are you excited to finally have double digits?" he asked, winking when she smiled wide.

"I'm so excited! Aunt Minerva has already told me she'll come, she even owled me to make it formal. Nobody else has owled back though, but we just sent them out. I can't wait!" she exclaimed.

Knowing his granddaughter had a tendency to ramble and that he would lovingly listen all day, he slyly interjected, saying, "Speaking of your birthday, I wanted to ask what you want." Seeing her frown, he put out his hand to stop her protests. "And don't just tell me you don't want anything, you know I'll keep asking," he added.

She pouted. "Well," she drawled out, "There is one thing that I want." Looking hopefully up into his eyes, she asked, "Can you tell me about my parents?" At her grandfather's frown, she started to panic. She didn't want to sound ungrateful for being adopted, but she was just curious.

"My dear," Dumbeldore started, placing his hand on her fiery red curls, "Someday you will know about the legacy of your parents, but only when the time is right. That time is not now.” 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as she cried in his arms all night long. 

* * *

The next summer, when Lillian turned eleven years old, Dumbledore was conflicted. He didn’t know whether he should allow her admission into Hogwarts or send her abroad. He had adopted her years ago, ten years ago in fact, and had told himself she would play a role in the diminishing of Voldemort, and yet, he found himself caring too much about her to want her anywhere near Britain, the core of the war.

He was going soft. 

Deep down he knew she had to stay, for the greater good he told himself, so he, after hours of contemplation, sent her an admissions letter and a supply list. She returned home with Severus that day, textbooks tightly clutched and an owl perched onto her shoulder, wearing the biggest smile he had ever seen on her face. 

On her first day at Hogwarts he felt quite sentimental. The small chair and plate next to his at the front table were gone; Lillian would be a part of the students now. He would miss the excited claps she gave for each sorting and her vibrant conversations with the professors and himself, however, he was proud. His little girl was growing up. 

When it was time to be sorted, he clapped politely at the other students, especially when said students were sorted into Gryffindor. After a few names were called out, Dumbledore glanced at the list and noticed it was Lillian’s turn next. He tried not to look too excited and sat up straighter in his chair, ears perked up.

“Lillian Dumbeldore,” professor McGonagall called out, smiling as she sat down. 

A few seconds later, the sorting hat had made its decision. “I know…. I’ll put you in,” it drawled, “Slytherin!”

The older student’s wore tight lipped smiles and lightly clapped, a harsh contrast to the boo’s the other slytherin sorted first-years had received from the majority of the non-slytherin student body. Lillian made her way to the Slytherin table, red faced and hunched down. Dumbledore noticed she avoided his gaze, looking quite embarrassed at her sorting. 

She must think I’m disappointed, he thought, before making a mental note to congratulate his granddaughter privately sometime later that day. 

But as the prefects led their new housemates into their respective common room, he decided to push back his talk with Lillian to later that week and went to sleep early, thinking that she would want some time to make new friends. 

He was shocked when he was jolted awake in the middle of the night by the sensation of rough pushing by a pair of small hands. Reaching for his wand, he turned on the lights and faced the intruder, but upon seeing that it was his little dove, he relaxed his shoulders and put his wand down. 

“What’s going on Lilly?” he asked, noticing her puffy green eyes and dried tear marks.

At the sound of his voice she launched at him, sobbing, “They…. They keep saying… that…. I’m only sent there… to be a spy… for you and get them… get them in more trouble… but I told them that’s not true… but… but they don’t believe me and call me names and… and… and I hate it there.”

He tried to comfort her, but he himself felt so guilty of the situation she was in. After all, he did have a track record among the Slytherin’s of favoring them the least, and that was what didn’t sit well with them. Dumbledore has always known he has a slight prejudice against the house, and he had always tried to be as fair as possible, but he never knew it would transfer onto his granddaughter. 

“I’m sorry Lillian. A father’s sins should never be carried by his children,” he started, pulling her closer, “But this is something you must get through. I can’t change your house, that would just prove their point wouldn’t it?” She nodded slightly. “This will pass little dove, and they’ll see what an amazing girl you are. You’re funny, smart, outgoing, friendly, the list can go on and on,” he winked, nudging her as he complimented her to cheer her up. “Keep your head up ok?”

Lilly sniffled, but muttered a quiet ok in response, and he swore he saw a hint of a smile on her face. He thought that things would calm down, but following that day, the situation only got much worse. 

Dumbledore knew because he heard the rumors himself, though, not because his granddaughter told him, but he understood she didn’t want to make him feel guilty about the bullying. Not knowing what else to do, the Headmaster urged her to befriend Harry Potter. He told her that he needed someone to teach him of the wizarding world, but Dumbledore really just wanted Lilly to have something to distract herself with. 

Somehow this resulted with Lillian getting involved in their schemes one way or the other. In her first year, she had been the one that alerted Dumbledore of the trio’s plan to sneak into the forbidden room and obtain the sorcerer’s stone. Her quick thinking alone was what saved Ron and Harry’s life. In her second year she, thankfully, wasn’t roped into the Chamber with the boys, but instead took it upon herself to befriend Ginny Weasely and help her through her distraught emotions. In her third year, she was, somehow, involved in the plan to help Sirius escape, and even was in kahoots with Black to prove his innocence. 

Although Dumbledore knew that Lillian would eventually get involved with more and more Voldemort related incidents, he hated the feeling he got, hated how much he didn’t care of what happened to Harry as long as his granddaughter wasn’t caught up in the mess. 

He trusted Lillian to keep herself safe, but this year, he had a horrible feeling about the events to come. With Hogwarts hosting the Triwizard tournament, he was afraid that Lillian would learn who she was much earlier than she needed to. There were going to be many former Death Eaters in his castle, all of whom knew his granddaughter’s true identity. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm back!! I've edited this story so much and I'm finally happy with the way I've written it, so here's the edited version of the prologue. This chapter is going to be the only one in third person point of view, and the actual chapters will be in first person. I can't wait to continue this story! Thank you for reading, and have an amazing rest of your day loves :)


	2. Chapter 1

I waved my goodbyes to my classmates as they climbed into the express to go home, suitcases in tow. It was the first of June, marking the last day of my third year at Hogwarts, and although I had enjoyed it, I had certain things I needed to do while I didn't have school to focus on.

Dumbledore, unfortunately having very important business to attend to, had left me in the company of Uncle Severus for the entirety of the summer. I didn't think twice when he told me, having spent countless hours in the professor's home at Spinner's End, reading books in the silence as he developed lesson plans and brewed his potions.

As the train vanished, my godfather, a man of little words, motioned for me to follow him into the castle, his long, black robes fluttering in the wind.

"We have a change of plans," he curtly announced. Taking my raised left eyebrow as a need for elaboration, he continued, "I am unable to house you this summer, as I have a few prior commitments that I need to take care of, and so you're going to be staying with a friend of mine," he explained, rolling his eyes as he took note of my pout. "Don't be ungrateful; The Malfoy's are agreeing to take you in, and have already taken your luggage to their home."

"The Malfoys?," I sighed, but his stern look did not waver, so I nodded and agreed. Inside, though, I was panicking. I was depending on Uncle Snape's vast library and his key to Hogwarts to do some research, but the Malfoy's were sure to be extra watchful of any book I read from their library, that is if they even had the books I needed.

Uncle Severus cleared his throat, effectively stopping my thoughts, and held out his arm, grimacing as I clutched onto it. I closed my eyes as we faded into the shadows. Each and every minuscule fiber in my body twisted through space as we apparated to Malfoy Manor.

I had a few mixed feelings, but nonetheless I was grateful to the Malfoy's for allowing me to stay with them this summer. It was better than staying alone in the castle all summer, and since I was slightly acquainted with Draco, it wouldn't be too lonely. Although my few Gryffindor friends, namely Ginny, loathed Malfoy, he wasn't as snobby as he seemed, especially to his fellow housemates.

I was more concerned with the business my grandfather and godfather were immersing themselves into. I wasn't stupid. I understood it had something to do with Voldemort, especially with my godfather's title as a former Death Eater. When I had asked what they were going to be up to, they had simply brushed me off and told me it was tournament matters, something I didn't thoroughly believe.

The sight of the mansion, upon arrival, was enough to bring me out of my reverie. My jaw dropped as I took in the sharp, polished exterior of the castle, its extravagant fountains and embellished windows that gleamed in the sunlight, contrasting dramatically with the hooded forest surrounding the manor.

My eyes narrowed to block out the hot sunlight and to focus on the front door and I spotted a tall, middle aged man with striking platinum blonde hair who I easily identified as Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father. He was leaning on the left stone pillar, smirking as we made our way through the pathway which was most likely crafted to show off the well maintained gardens on both sides of the walkway.

"Good afternoon Severus," he started, jutting his chin down in a makeshift nod, "and good afternoon to you too Miss Dumbledore."

As the two adults made smalltalk, Mrs. Malfoy opened the front door and welcomed us in, simultaneously calling for her son. Draco eased down the spiral staircase, his light steps characterized by the faint tap of his polished shoes on each step. Narcissa, who had stepped aside from the entrance, smiled politely, curtly nodding as we walked past her into the Malfoy home.

While Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy exchanged basic formalities with my uncle, Mrs. Malfoy urged Draco to show me around with a knowing glint in her eye, and he, almost suddenly, obliged.

"This way," he motioned, not sparing me a glance as he made his way upstairs.

I followed suit. We fell into an awkward silence once we were out of earshot from the adults, my leather flats clanking on the glass stairs with each heavy step I took. Upstairs, there was one long horizontal hallway connecting the top floor to the stairs. Draco beckoned me to the left, showing me the balcony that ultimately connected to my room.

"The right hallway has the rest of the guest rooms, as well as other rooms you're welcome to explore if you'd like. Father thought it was best if you stayed in a room close to me, though, so call me if you need anything," he recited, looking quite bored.

"Thank you, and good night," I replied as I opened the door to my guest room, quickly shutting it behind me.

Stripping down into my undergarments, I flopped onto the expensive bed, my robes scattered throughout the guest room. Apparating had always given me motion sickness, so I was craving a long night's rest, even though it was only a few hours past noon. The temperature was quite warm, and I, being a picky sleeper, uttered a simple charm to cool the air. I placed my wand, made of laurel wood and a dragon's heartstring core, on the adjacent dresser, and laid on my back, sighing when I was engulfed onto the cloud-like mattress. As I propped my hands underneath my head, my coherent thoughts began to blur and the drowsiness took over me, lulling me into sleep.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to a loud squawk in my right ear. Jolting up, I identified the source of the noise. Uncle severus' owl, an ash gray great horned owl named Percy, was staring at me expectantly, head tilted with a parchment held by the talons on his left leg.

Percy dropped the note on top of the thick sheets covering me and flew away through the open balcony window. I quickly unrolled the letter.

_Lillian,_

_I left in a hurry last night, having to attend my business quickly. The Malfoy's have agreed to host you for the entirety of the summer, so be on your best behavior. Drop by Gringotts if you need any money, and do not write back, as I have no time to read your reply._

I ripped the paper into eights and placed them on my left palm. Grabbing my wand, I whispered, "Incendio," and watched the parchment burn first at the edges, spreading to the core until it was reduced to ash. Although the letter revealed no secret information, the possession of it in the wrong hands may lead to trouble, and I wasn't going to take any chances.

I was also slightly disappointed that I hadn't received a letter from Sirius, who had promised to write to me when he found refuge. The grumbling of my stomach stopped me from going into a long train of thought, and I pushed aside my mission to create a tangible defense for Black in the back of my mind to dwell on later that day.

Once I put on clean dress robes and freshened up, the strong aroma of fried eggs and smoked bacon led me downstairs. I took my time, not expecting to see the entirety of the household already in their seats. Mr. Malfoy sat at the head of the table, while Mrs. Malfoy sat at the left side of him. There was no laughter, no conversation; only mere silence and the sounds of soft chewing filled the dining room.

"Good morning," I greeted as I took a seat across from Draco, leaving a seat between Mr. Malfoy and myself.

"Good Morning Miss Dumbledore," he drawled, slicing his smoked sausage while maintaining eye contact with me, "How was your first night?"

"Very nice. Thank you for your hospitality," I curtly answered as fried eggs, toast, refried beans and an assortment of vegetables appeared on my plate. A ghost of a smile danced at my lips in regard of the Malfoy's concern about my disdain for consuming meat, as my plate was the only one lacking sausage and bacon.

"I'm glad." He stabbed his fork into a piece, and I couldn't help but stare at the juice oozing out, even as his eyes stayed trained to my face. "The headmaster's daughter is always welcome in our home." I bit my tongue and lowered my head to keep myself from talking back at his, very obvious, artificial love for my grandfather. Even I knew of the eldest Malfoy's disdain for the policies protecting muggle born students at Hogwarts, something Lucius had tried, unsuccessfully, to remove.

The silence returned as he chewed his food slowly and swallowed. We ate for a while, the silence ending only when Draco came down the stairs and sat himself down.

Lucius scoffed, calling out to the house elves before his son even touched his plate, commanding, "Hold off on the food until I say so." Snapping his neck to Draco, he frowned. "You're too much. Is this when you're supposed to come to eat breakfast?"

"Sorry," he mumbled, head lowered to where it almost touched the table.

Disappointed, without reason I felt like, Mr. Malfoy shook his head side to side and motioned to the head house elf to fill Draco's plate with food. "When you're done, go into the study and a few books will be laid out for you to read." Putting down his silverware and wiping his mouth with one of the silk handkerchiefs set at each table, Mr. Malfoy rose and pushed in his chair.

For some reason, the exchange reminded me of my need for a library this summer, so I called out to him. "Mr. Malfoy," I started, continuing only when he gave me his full attention, "Do you have a library I may read in?"

He snootily jutted his chin in the air and raised his left brow. "Of course I have a library, Miss Dumbledore," he boasted, "And you are welcome to use it anytime. Draco will be delighted to take you there. " And with that he continued out of the dining room, most likely to his chambers or his study.

The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence, other than the occasional questions from Mrs. Malfoy. She finished her food first, and excused herself from the table, leaving me and Draco alone, facing each other awkwardly. "Are you done?" he pestered after a while, rolling his eyes when I shook my head no. "Hurry up then, I have other matters to attend to."

"Like what?" I asked, very slowly munching on a piece of toast, the last of the food on my plate, in an effort to annoy him further. "Are you going to be following your father around like a lovesick puppy?"

"At least I have a father to follow around," he glared, sneering as my cheeks flushed.

I slammed my fork down onto the table and quickly rose from my seat. Looking up at his gray eyes, I clenched my jaw. Something like regret flashed in his features, but I interjected before I said anything out of anger, especially since I started it.

"Just take me to the library," I sighed.

He stopped talking and nodded, probably deciding to stay civil, and motioned for me to follow him. We turned through many hallways before reaching our destination, and Draco opened the door open for himself, beckoning me to go in.

I was in awe. The four walls that made up the enormous room were made into multiple bookshelves, making it seem as if I was surrounded by books. Velvet colored couches and chairs were placed in the center of the library, its hue complimenting the burnt brown shade of the shelves and the dark midnight blue colored rugs adorned with intricate designs. Tables accompanied each piece of furniture made for sitting, and they were decorated with candles, most likely due to the lack of light other than the windows in the room.

After I had strained my neck searching through each and every nook and cranny to see if there were any signs that I was being watched and found nothing, I decided to start searching for law related books. I needed to get a grasp on trials and azkaban sentences, and if anyone inquired about it, I thought, I'll just play it off as having an interest in pursuing a career as a member of the Wizengamot, the Council of Magical Law.

Pacing around the room, I searched, finally finding something that interested me on the shelf to the right of the unlit fireplace. The title of "Basic Criminal Law" caught my eye, so I reached up on my tippy toes and grabbed it. Hugging the work close to my chest, I plopped onto the nearest couch. I opened it up to the first page, coughing as the dust from the pages spread through the air. So engrossed in the book, I didn't notice that Draco had sat right next to me, nose buried into a novel.

"Why are you reading a textbook?" he inquired, lowering the book down into his lap as he peered down my shoulder.

"Some people read," I spat, turning my body away from him. My eyes never left the book as I turned to the next page, wanting to focus on my reading.

He continued to watch me read with a bored smirk on his face. I groaned. "Leave me be," I pleaded, rubbing my temple with my right hand while the left hand firmly held the textbook in my lap.

"This is my house, you know? You're just going to have to read in my company," he declared, and with that he flipped the page of his novel, and continued to read as if I wasn't glaring at him from across the plush sofa.

Rolling my eyes I turned my focus back onto the book. The room was quiet, other than the occasional page flip from Malfoy, so I was able to understand everything I read. "The accused are allowed to call a witness or multiple witnesses due to the Wizengamot Charter of Rights, as long as the witness have tangible proof" I noted in my head, suddenly getting excited at the prospect of having a defense for Black. All I needed was a pensive, as I had seen Wormtail myself, and then I could prove that Sirius hadn't killed him. I squealed, being overjoyed, but as soon as the sound left my lips I slapped my hands over my mouth.

"I didn't know reading law was so exciting. You see someone there you fancy? Though, I pegged the mudblood to be more into this sort of thing," Draco smirked, his grey eyes still trained on his novel.

My cheeks burned, matching my scarlet hair. "Mind your own business," I gritted through my clenched jaw. Feeling the urge to yell at him for his racist jab, I directed my anger into reminding myself why I was here in the first place and couldn't get distracted. The hatred I felt for Wormtail came pulsing back through my veins as I remembered the night that an innocent man had to flee from those who turned their backs on him.

_It was about a year ago; My godfather had insisted that I remain in my grandfather's chambers until Sirius Black had been caught, and although I was annoyed that Uncle Severus didn't want me out of sight, I was secretly relieved. Dumbledore and Snape had been lurking the corridors for weeks, and it gave me peace of mind when I was able to hear them exhaustedly fall onto their beds in the middle of the night._

_This night started like any other. I was in Dumbledore's room, finishing up my paper for Ancient Runes that was due in a few days. Setting my quill down, I scooted my chair back, cringing at the sound, and started to turn off the candles. Once the room was pitch black, and I had petted my owl good night, I opened the door leading to my room, and turned off all the lights. I was about to close down the windows and snuggle into bed, when a movement caught my eye._

_A dark figure was making its way towards the Whomping Willow. Assuming the worst and thinking it was Black, I picked up my wand and started to think of ways to alert my grandfather. My heart rate increased, but I, attempting to stay level headed, took in some deep breaths and looked closer at the figure. I squinted my eyes and clearly saw another man, right at the small knot near the base of the tree. He picked up his wand, a dark ebony color, and my heart stopped. It was my godfather's wand, I was sure of it, especially because it was embellished with the wand ring I bought him for Christmas._

_The tree froze and blood rushed into my head, pounding away any coherent thoughts. I closed my eyes, and breathed in, exhaling after a few seconds. Finally level headed, I came to the conclusion that it was my godfather going into the tree. Normally, I would've thought nothing of the fact and gone to sleep, but there was a looming dread in the pit of my stomach that made me want to hurl, and so I did the unthinkable. I let my impulses control me and ran after him._

_Living in Hogwarts all my life, I knew a lot of secret passages. A particular secret exit in the left corner of my room took me directly down to the portion of the forbidden forest located next to the Whomping Willow. I raced down the stairs, careful to be quick on my feet and not step on any splinters, especially as I hadn't even thought to wear any shoes._

" _Lumos," I whispered once I had reached the bottom of the stairs and opened the door out. Out of breath, each of my heavy exhales produced huge clouds of white fog in the chilly air._

_I tiptoed to the tree, whispering again, "Immobilus," smiling when the branches of the tree stopped slashing at my movement. I crawled to the base of the tree, knowing that it led to the shrieking shack, and followed the sound of loud noises, making my way down the tunnel and up the stairs, just in time to see my godfather launched across the room._

_I couldn't believe my eyes. Sirius Black was in Hogwarts, his yellow teeth shining in a grin as he watched Snape pass out. His face and body were hollow, resembling a skeleton, almost as if he hadn't eaten for months. Terrified out of my mind, I could only watch, eyes wide and trembling, as the man untied Professor Lupin and embraced him._

_He suddenly snapped his neck and turned to me, his eyes bulging out of his sockets. "Lily?" Black whispered, almost as if he was in a trance, before shaking his head and mumbling to himself._

_Finding the courage, maybe from being noticed or out of pure adrenaline, I whipped out my wand in front of my body protectively. "What the bloody hell is going on here? How do you know my name?" Turning my body towards Harry, I shouted, "Harry, this man was in Azkaban because he sold out your parents! We need to get out, now!"_

_When no one moved, I looked at them all expectantly, mouth open wide at their indifference to the danger they were in. Finally, Professor Lupin started to talk. "Sirius," he began, clasping the criminal on the black, "Tell her."_

" _She really is-" he started, stopping when Lupin shook his head and placed his pointer finger over his lips. He cleared his throat, and began to explain everything. How Petigrew betrayed the Potters and framed him, how he and Peter became unregistered animagus, how he suffered in Azkaban, how he came back to finish the job; he told me all of it, and I listened._

_I didn't know if it was the way his eyes filled with life when he took secret glances at Harry while talking to me or the conviction in his voice, but I believed him. I believed every word of it._

" _Ok," I exhaled, lowering my wand. "Prove it," I demanded, the Golden Trio behind me shouting their various agreements._

_After a bit of pleading and reassuring, Ron gave up his pet Scabbers, and they were able to turn the rat into a human, proving everything they had claimed to be true. Peter was ugly upon first glance, his yellow teeth jutted out, matching his long, uncut nails. I continued to stare, drowning out the arguing and pleading and shouting the others in the room were exchanging, my body shaking from rage. How could this man stand there, and beg for mercy when he sent an innocent man to Azkaban? He should die for the injustice he caused, I thought to myself, as they decided amongst themselves to turn in the traitor to the dementors._

_Everyone made their way out of the shrieking shack, hopeful to prove Black's innocence, and although I was ready to see justice served, I decided to stay behind so that I could help my unconscious godfather out of the rubble. I didn't think anyone would notice, but Sirius walked back in and glanced at me, asking, "Are you alright?"_

" _Yeah, I'm fine," I said, thinking that he would leave right after my response, but when he stared at me expectantly, I followed up by telling him to go on ahead and that I was just looking for something I dropped. He complied, and I was left alone with my godfather, who I quickly pulled up and shook rigourously._

" _Are you ok uncle Severus?" I asked when he started to groan, smiling when he nodded and flashed a hint of his signature tight smile. As he brushed off the dirt on his robes onto the ground, I tried to get him to listen to me, but before I could even open my mouth he stormed off towards Lupin, Black and the golden trio._

_I rushed after him, grimacing as I heard him scold and threaten everyone outside. But then, before anyone could register what was happening, Professor Lupin started to scream. His face expanded first, stretching out with his now enlarged skull, and his whole body followed suit until his back was hunched and his skin was covered in thick, gray fur._

_I couldn't stop staring at him as his eyes turned bloodshot and he began to howl, that is, until I heard a spark and saw Ron fall to the ground._

_My neck snapped to the source of the sound, turning just in time to see Peter smirk victoriously and scamper off as his animagus. My blood boiled as it rushed into my face, and I, furious out of my mind, ran after him, ignoring the protests and screams behind me to come back._

_We ran for almost ten minutes, my low stamina hindering me from being able to fully catch up. So focused on trying to grab the end of his tail, I didn't notice the thick tree root in front of my path, and I tripped, falling straight on my face. I tried to list myself up, but I could barely get my head off the ground. Having no other option, I clenched my fists and used the side of my arms to drag myself forward, grimacing as my robes started to rip. Exposed, my skin started to cut, the twigs and dirt scraping the surface. Blood dripped down my face as I intensely squeezed and opened my eyes to stay awake, but as I hazilly tried to look around and saw no traces of the rat, I let my body take over and collapsed onto the floor. Everything went black._

_I jolted up, most likely a few hours later, to the sound of my grandfather's voice. Following the voice, I saw Harry and Hermionie talking to Dumbledore, but at the sight of my consciousness, they walked over to my bed._

" _They're going to give Sirius the dementor's kiss," Hermione let out, rushing straight to the point without any regard to the situation, and although I often found it annoying, I was glad for it that day._

" _But he's innocent," I protested, swallowing hard and looking straight at my grandfather, "You can't let this happen!"_

" _We saw Pettigrew with our own eyes," Harry added, voice harsher and louder with each word he spoke, "He's an unregistered-"_

_Dumbledore cut him off, amusement leaking out of his voice, "Animagus? Yes, I know. Unfortunately, no one is going to take your word over Professor Snape's, but possibly, if you had more time," he started, winking at Hermione at the mention of time, "You may be able to save more than one innocent life tonight."_

_He walked towards the door, having always been one to have a flare for the dramatics, and left us there, bewildered, before turning back, saying, "Three turns should do."_

_Quickly, as soon as my grandfather left, Hermionie grabbed our arms and pushed us all closer together until we were huddled in the center of the room. Pulling out a golden necklace, she placed it over our heads and turned the circular pendant three times. People started to walk past us, backwards, and went about their day in reverse, showing no indication that they noticed our presence. Hermionie grabbed our arms again and started to run, pulling us into an abandoned corridor._

" _This is a time turner," she started, once we had gone somewhere where we were out of sight, "Professor McGonagall gave it to me at the start of the term." She puffed out her chest slightly. "It's how I've been getting to all the extra classes."_

_I tried to ignore the flare of jealousy at her statement. Even though I worked hard, arguably more than Granger herself, I was always second best to her in marks. But, knowing that we were in a time crunch, I forced myself not to take a jab at her and to just listen about her rules of time travel._

" _What's the plan?" I asked, once she had finished._

_Harry raised his eyebrow. "We're going to save Sirius from the dementor's kiss," he said, as if I wasn't aware of the situation we were in._

_I scoffed, not bothering to explain myself. We made our way towards Hagrid's hut, and I, knowing how horrible I was at improvising, took the moment to think of a thorough plan, seeing that both individuals hadn't thought out exactly how we were going to achieve all of this._

_Seeing Buckbeak put my thoughts into a coherent plan. Nudging the two Gryffindors by my side, who were staring into Hagrid's hut as well as they could behind the stacks of hay, I explained. "He's the way we can get Sirius out of here," I excitedly whispered, pointing at the hippogriff. At their blank expressions, I rubbed my temples. "Sirius needs a way to escape, doesn't he? With Dementors swarming the castle, I don't think they'll miss his animagus form, especially now that my grandfather knows. Plus, he looks exhausted. He's practically skin and bones! If we can get Buckbeak to fly off with Sirius, we can kill two birds with one stone," I finished._

" _That was pretty… smart," Hermionie commented, most likely beating herself up for not figuring it out first._

_My retort was interrupted as the golden trio rushed out of Hagrid's hut. As soon as they and the group of adults, who had gone into the hut right after the three left, were out of sight, Hermionie and Harry ran towards Buckbeak, and I tried not to slap my forehead in exasperation at their impulsiveness. I went over to them and helped them untangle his chains, but when he was free, he wouldn't budge, even after Harry bowed to him and beckoned him to follow._

_We were eventually able to lure him with dead birds -Hermionie's idea- and strapped him onto one of the tree's in the forest. Right after, we separated. The duo decided to watch the events from afar, intervening when they felt it was necessary, while I went closer towards the castle, trying to think of a path from the forest to the cell my grandfather was sure to keep Black in. I waited until the executioner left and quickly found Harry and Hermionie, the former buzzing excitedly about patronus charms. Pointing out the cell and the easiest way to get there to Harry, as he was the best flyer out of the three of us, we latched onto Buckbeak and flew as he kicked off, arriving to the cell quick enough for Harry to steady the hippogriff, Hermione to stand lookout, and for me to bust Sirius out._

_There were things that I was itching to ask the man, so once Harry had gotten his time with him, I asked for a few minutes alone with the ex- Azkaban inmate._

" _Sirius," I started, rushing my words because of our lack of time, "How did you know my name?"_

_He sighed and gazed at me with a reminiscent look, almost as if he was seeing someone else in my place. "I can't tell you much, unfortunately, but I… I knew your mother. She was a friend; a good friend, and you look exactly like her," he explained with a hint of a smile._

_I looked up at him hopefully. "You knew my mother?" I asked, not bothering to hide my enormous grin. About to ask him more, I opened my mouth, but closed it quickly, remembering that it wasn't the time. "I want to ask more," I told him, "But we don't have time. What's more important is that I need you to write to me once you seek refuge. I'm going to prove your innocence."_

_He laughed with his whole body, in a joyful way that I didn't think possible for a man locked away for a crime he didn't commit, and once he had calmed down, he asked, "Why?"_

" _Because I'm going to fight your injustice with justice," I declared._

_Throwing his head back he laughed once more. "You're just as headstrong as your mother, you know that? Seeing you like this brings back some old memories," he started, but before he could elaborate, Hermionie rushed towards us, ushering Black to go before it's too late._

I swore to him that I would fight his injustice with justice, and that was a promise I intended to keep, and even though I was stuck in Malfoy Manor all summer, I was determined.

For about a month I stayed cooped up at the library, sometimes even staying up all through the night and only going back into the guest room in the early morning because I was so caught up in what I was reading. Then, once I was through learning for the day, I wrote down all the knowledge I had acquired, jotting down the broad ideas in bullets and specifics on the margins. It was all so interesting to me, having something special and my own to work on.

Draco joined me most days, reading textbooks that his father picked out for him so that he could be ahead of the class for the next school year. Sometimes Malfoy would try to make conversation, most likely due to boredom, but I wouldn't respond and eventually he'd go back to reading. Mr. Malfoy often walked into the room, and the first few times I would jolt up and quickly hunch over the book I was reading, but after a while I understood he only came to observe Draco and his progress in his studies. There was always something he had to say, whether it was to sit up, read faster, or just to compare Draco's work ethic to someone better. It was quite sad, not having privacy or freedom in your own house, but it wasn't my place to state my opinion in someone else's household.

By the time August came around, I had gained a thorough understanding of the court system. It all boiled down to being able to appeal to the council, either by the judged individual or a representative proving the case through witnesses and evidence. I learned that I would first need to make a case to appeal to the council, and convince them to reopen Black's case and give him proper trial, and then, only then, could I even begin to argue for his freedom. 

I had even heard back from Sirius, but it wasn't good news. As I furthered my studies, I started to get into specific Azkaban sentences, and the common rule was that the accused had to be present for the trial, and if they were convicted guilty, they were taken immediately, with no chance of acquaintance ever again. This wasn't a situation I wanted to put Sirius in, that is, if the case I was making to open trial for Sirius went through. I had to be 100% sure with everything; it had to be perfect.

Often, I would start to daydream of the day when I became the one standing in the middle of the council, arguing for the innocence of individuals wronged by the justice system that only cared about positive public rapport. People would believe the words I said, not because I was a legend's granddaughter, but because it was the truth. It was justice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you guys are staying safe during this pandemic, and have an amazing rest of your day :)


	3. Chapter 2

As the days went by and summer continued, I started to see a different side of Malfoy Manor, one that struck me as peculiar because the picture I had painted in my mind of the household was moving further and further away from reality.

For starters, it was odd to see the rude, dignified Draco hold his tongue and be respectful. Back in school he was cocky, always bullying anyone he felt was inferior, two-faced, pretending to be the perfect student in front of his teachers but then ridiculing them behind their backs and a pure-blood supremacist, hurling racist slurs to anyone who was muggle born. Not to mention, he was always slandering my grandfather. Only our house rule of "Slytherin's always stick together" always kept me from marching over to him and giving him a piece of my mind. Instead, I just kept my distance, even when my circle, namely Blaise, started to mingle with him.

Here, in his home, he listened to his mother and restrained his scowl when she prodded him. It was confusing, seeing someone so despicable have a redeeming quality.

It wasn't just Draco, though. Mr. Malfoy, for instance, addressed me in a respectful tone, contrasting the esteemed and haughty preconception I had of him. Although he had an infamous hatred for my grandfather's policies, he never talked to me like I was any less of an equal. For some reason, he always hid his left hand under the table and always wore long dress robes that covered his arm. He was also always speaking in hushed whispers with Narcissa before I arrived to eat at the table. I was only ever able to catch snips of their conversation, but there was one dialogue I overheard that made me quite suspicious.

It was late at night one day, and I had stayed in the library far longer than I should have. Trying not to be seen, I quickly walked towards the stairs, careful to take light steps. Upon hearing voices, I scampered into the closest room, which happened to be a bathroom, and stood behind the door. My heart was racing as the voices trailed past, but I forced myself to take quiet breaths and listen carefully.

Footsteps approached my vicinity and the muffled sound of voices started to become more clear, allowing me to listen in. "He will reward us Narcissa. The heir favors us, and when the inevitable happens, we will be credited to giving him the ultimate power," said a voice I recognized as Lucius Malfoy.

"And if she doesn't? If she chooses her family over-" Mrs. Malfoy started, inching closer to the room I was hiding in. I held my breath.

"You must have faith. She could never choose a man who lied over him, especially considering what he will promise her. We are simply the catalyst, the one's to…"

I inwardly groaned, frustrated that the pair was too far away for me to make out any coherent words, but at least I had remained unseen. Peeking out the door and confirming the coast was clear, I ran up the stairs as noise-free as I could and headed straight to the guest room. I stayed up trying to understand their conversation, but even after thinking for almost an hour, I truly had no clue what they were referring to.

I was itching to figure it out, however, I knew it really wasn't my business, especially when their conversation could just be regarding work or anything that wasn't important, so I reluctantly let it go.

* * *

A few days later, specifically the day before the first of August, I turned fourteen. The Malfoy's didn't know, not that I expected them to, and I spent the day sketching in my notebook and writing replies to the letters I had gotten from Tracey and Blaise.

My birthday gift from the universe came at night, once the candles were blown out and I had snuggled into bed.

"You can never change the red string of fate," a woman's voice welcomed as I was engulfed into the darkness of my dreams.

The woman waved a single hand and the ground beneath me started to crumble until I was thrust into an endless swirl of falling darkness. Trying to scream but unable to get a sound out of my mouth, I instead turned my attention to the smirking woman, whose silhouette was increasingly outlined in blood. With each passing second her smile grew wider and wider until I was suspended in the air directly in front of her, so close to her face that I could smell the blood on her body.

"Do it," she demanded, her soft features suddenly hardening as a pair of hands appeared out of thin air. She grabbed my arm, the blood on her skin smearing onto mine at the contact, and opened my palms. Taking my index finger, she clasped it tightly and pressed it against her forehead.

Suddenly, the space around me erupted into bright light, temporarily blinding me, and I was struck right in the heart by a flash of green fire. At first it just burned in my heart but as the pain started to become bearable the fire, unable to show mercy, spread throughout my body, eating me from the inside out. As my body throbbed and I trashed around, I heard snippets of arguing. Forcing myself to open my eyes, I saw a flash of a boy, only slightly older than I was, with hair as white as snow, running out the door.

I woke up, clawing the air around me in an attempt to breathe. I sobbed to myself and curled into a fetal position, my knees bumping into my chest. But, once the tears fell from my eyes I furiously scratched them away, unable to bear the burning sensation so similar to the fire that consumed me only seconds ago.

It felt too real.

For the rest of the night I alternated between reading a novel I had picked up for pleasure reading and sketching on scraps of parchment paper, desperate not to succumb into sleep. I didn't allow my eyes to close, until the sun rose and the sky filled with bold hues of red and orange. In need of some warmth, I opened up the window and closed my eyes, basking in the sun's rays.

Although it was only six in the morning, I was feeling abnormally hungry so I closed up the windows and freshened up, going about my morning routine faster than usual and ran down the stairs. I was hoping to be the only one at the table that early, not wanting the Malfoy's to judge the bags under my eyes and my slouched posture that a cold shower wasn't able to erase. However, to my surprise, the family of three were already eating, joined by a guest.

"Uncle Severus!" I greeted, also nodding hello to the Malfoy family as I slid into a vacant chair right next to my godfather. "Good morning. I didn't know you were coming?"

"I was not made aware of my visit until a few hours ago. Sending an owl would have been a waste of time," he elucidated, slicing small pieces of his pancakes with his fork and knife.

I nodded at his answer. Picking at the pancakes on my plate, I silently gobbled my fill, content to let the others -namely Draco and Lucius- do the talking. My interest only piqued when the Quidditch World Cup was mentioned.

"You have gotten tickets I presume? We," the head of the Malfoy house boasted, gesturing to his family, "Are guests of the Minister of Magic himself for making a miniscule donation to St. Mungo's."

"The headmaster has made arrangements for the tournament," he started, giving me a pointed look when I started to grin, "But I am not attending."

I frowned. I hardly ever saw my godfather smile, let alone enjoy himself, and when he did it often looked like he was trying not to cringe, so it would've been nice to see the man loosen up at the event. In the mood to mope, although I understood that it wasn't his scene, I continued to swirl around the maple syrup and honey in the plate with my fork, giving less than half of my attention to the tableside conversation.

"And what do you think Lillian? You too know of the upcoming tournament hosted by Hogwarts, yes?"

I quickly snapped out of my pattern making, pretending to have been paying attention when Mr. Malfoy directly addressed me. Thankfully, I had caught most of his questions, or else I would've embarrassed myself. "The Triwizard Tournament? I'm excited to meet students of other schools, and especially excited to witness the uproar concerning the new addition of an age line." I grinned, quickly adding in a "Sir" at the end of my statement at his blank countenance.

"Age Line? Ah, Dumbledore has always wanted to keep his student's safe, although any inexperienced, young child foolish enough to put his name in the cup doesn't deserve protection." Lucius sneered, glaring at Draco as he snickered across the table, effectively causing him to stop.

I stopped listening as the ongoing conversation steered towards other topics, but I was shocked at the ease in which my godfather held himself in the manor. The Malfoy's were his friends, I knew that, but it was odd to see the degree of their closeness since I was only used to seeing Snape with my grandfather and other Hogwarts staff.

Finally, breakfast was done. Waving our goodbyes, I latched onto my godfather and we apparated. Unable to stay awake any longer, I let the twists and turns lull me into closing my eyes. This time, the world was kind to me and I was greeted by nothing but darkness as my eyes grew heavy and I fell into a deep sleep.

The familiar scent of lemon drops and cotton filled my body, causing me to rise from my slumber where I found myself on my grandfather's couch, a blanket loosely draped onto my legs. Looking around the room, I found Dumbledore inspecting something on my godfather's arm, but before I could get up and go to them, Fawkes swooped onto my arm.

"Hi Fawkes," I smiled, petting his head with three fingers.

Dumbledore and Snape stopped what they were doing, noticing that I was awake, and walked over. Dumbledore gave a soft smile, his eyes twinkling as normal but Uncle Severus had other plans in mind. "Lillian, that was very irresponsible of you to fall asleep while apparating." he reprimanded, crossing his arms in front of his chest with a scowl.

He looked like he was going to continue, but Dumbledore put his hand on Severus' shoulders and shook his head. "Now Severus, let's just be glad that Lillian is alright. These things happen sometimes, yes?" Turning towards me, he continued. "Why did you fall asleep dear? You've always been so full of energy."

"I… uh… well," I stammered, feeling a little embarrassed about withholding sleep over a bad dream. Eventually, I let it out, taking note of my grandfather's haunted expression and my godfather's confused one.

"Do you think it means something?" I asked, leaning back further onto the couch to curb my fatigue and aching body.

Uncle Severus shrugged apologetically, still looking perplexed.

Dumbledore glanced at me, worry evident in his eyes. "I'm not sure little dove, but I'll think about it some more, ok?" he said, his frown turning into a grin at the end of his sentence. "But now that you're awake and alright, let's celebrate the occasion." He exclaimed, the twinkle returning into his eyes as he waved his hand, levitating a cake onto the table right next to the couch.

It was decorated with macaroons, my favorite sweet, and had layers of different colored pastel icing ranging from light blue to lavender. Dumbledore started to sing after he lit the candles with another flick of his wrist, nudging Uncle Severus until he reluctantly joined in. I couldn't help but smile. The three of us always spent summer together: cooped up at Hogwarts or Spinner's End, traveling the world - the list could go on and on. I had missed them greatly, especially since schoolwork was piling up more and more each year, causing the holidays to become the only time I could spend quality time with them.

At the end of their singing I blew out the candles, pretending to make a wish, when in reality, I had everything I needed right there.

We spent the rest of the day lounging around, eating pastries as my grandfather explained all the preparations the school underwent to host the upcoming tournament. I figured that Dumbledore and Snape had taken the day off to celebrate with me and that I was going right back to the manor the next day, but I had assumed wrong.

"Ah, Lillian, I forgot to ask, perhaps because of my old age," Dumbledore winked, "But would you be interested to go to Romania with me?"

I blinked. "Romania? What would we do there?"

Dumbledore looked at me with his infamous grin, twinkle in his eyes. "Dragons, my dear. We're going to a dragon sanctuary," he said, laughing at my wide eyes.

* * *

I woke up early the next morning, too jittery to fall back asleep. Dragons, I thought to myself, unable to contain my smile.

A loud knock on my door was enough to snap me out of my thoughts. "Come in," I exclaimed, trying to not sound as excited as I was.

The door opened, revealing my grandfather adorning his favorite pair of grey robes and matching hat. "Ready?" he asked, flashing me a thumbs up when I asked him to give me a few minutes. He shut the door and left me alone after reminding me that he would be waiting in his office.

I rushed to my closet, picking out the first set of robes I found and quickly put them on. Remembering that Uncle Snape, although he had opted out of the trip, had recommended that I wear muggle clothing, both to blend in with the locals and because it was more practical for spending long periods of time outdoors, I pulled my fancy robes over my head and threw them on the floor. I decided to fold them later and shuffled through my hangers until I found a pair of short trousers and a loose fitting top.

I walked to my dresser, and as I reached for a comb, I got a glimpse of my bedhead in the mirror. Feeling lazy, I opted to use magic instead, uttering, "Crinus Muto," causing my usually unruly curls to become tamed and untangled.

Finally satisfied and restless to travel, I walked out of my chambers and into my grandfather's study. He simply extended his forearm for me to grab and in the blink of an eye, we were somewhere I had never been before.

Houses, painted dingy pastel colors, were on both sides of the narrow road, built with pipes and wires protruding out. They were covered with dirt and dust stains and were two stories each with at least three windows on each wall. Roofs made of adobe sheets were the only things that were identical in each home.

It was a muggle area, I deduced, observing the onlooker's hard stares towards Dumbledore's nonconforming outfit.

My grandfather, however, paid no mind to them and motioned for me to follow him along the uneven road. Last night he made me swear secrecy, although I knew it's because of his dramatic nature and not because he truly believed I would tell anyone, and he had promised to explain the purpose of our trip once we stepped foot in Romania.

As we trotted along to an unknown destination, Dumbledore fulfilled that promise, telling me that he was helping Barty Crouch Sr., the official organizer of the triwizard tournament. Because of this, he knew a few details concerning some of the events. The first event was what brought us to Romania, because the first trial of the games would pit the dragons and champions against each other in which the students would have to retrieve an object the animals were guarding. My grandfather was given the special task to pick out three dragons from the Romania Dragon Sanctuary, the largest of its kind, and decided to bring me along knowing I would appreciate the adventure.

Finally, we stopped walking, stopping in front of a clear, muggle telephone box with royal blue borders. Dumbledore opened the door and ushered me inside. It was a tight squeeze, but he managed to pick up the phone and speak into it, saying, "Oven Cleaner, a use of dragon's blood!"

The floor underneath vanished so fast that I didn't have enough time to scream, instead closing my eyes and bracing for impact.

"Arresto Momentum," said Dumbledore, wandlessly slowing down our motion to a point where my feet gently touched the ground. "You can open your eyes now," he reminded me, patting my back. I could hear the amusement laced in his voice.

I did as he said, gasping as I took in the sight before me. We were on a grey, stoney cliff from where we could hear the flow of the river below us. The water was calm and clear, so clear that I could spot olive colored fishes with black speckles swimming around. Their heads were broad and flat, and they had whisker-like organs coming out of their mouths. Rocks and pebbles made a path for the river, and connected to the grass where hundreds of sheep were roaming around and grazing. Behind us and the mountains that we were in, there was a deep forest which seemed to extend forever, with trees larger than the elevation we were on.

"It's beautiful," I smiled, looking at my grandfather. "Thank you for bringing me here."

He met my gaze with a bright smile of his own and ruffled my hair. Before he could say anything, a man in his early twenties, with a broad build and bright ginger hair that screamed Weasley, popped up behind us. He looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Good afternoon Headmaster," he greeted, shaking Dumbledore's hand, grinning when Dumbledore reminded him that he wasn't his headmaster anymore.

He turned towards me and held out his clenched fist, but I just scrunched my eyebrows in confusion, not really knowing what to do. The dragonologist threw his head back and laughed. "Ah, sorry," he started, "My name is Charlie Weasley. I was going for a fistbump, but it's nice to meet you."

I blinked. "Fistbump?"

"Yeah, a fistbump. It's a muggle greeting" he explained. "Clench your fist like I have and bump it with mine. Like this," said Charlie, proceeding to meet both his balled up hands together.

I did as he said, punching my fist into his, but I quickly pulled my hand back and started to massage my knuckles.

Charlie winced apologetically. "Uh, a little lighter next time, but it was good for the first time." He reassured me.

I smiled, before remembering that I hadn't introduced myself yet. "Oh, I'm Lillian Dumbledore, but I guess you knew that right?"

He nodded. Wasting no time, he started to walk deeper into the mountains and gestured for us to follow suit.

Our first destination was deep into the mountains. We continued to trek through the crumbling slopes, watching our steps, until Charlie extended his arm out in front of us to stop us. "Don't get any closer. " he warned, before pushing away the thicket in front of us, revealing a valley.

In front of us were three, bright red dragons with an array of golden spikes around their faces and on top of their noses. Their eyes, a brilliant shade of blue, bulged out of their sockets, and they had sharp talons on their hands, feet and on the top most corners of their wings. One of the dragons laid on its back, showing off the smooth golden scales on top of its belly, while another seeing us watching snarled and gnashing its teeth. I instinctively backed up and grabbed onto my grandfather's elbow, not wanting to be too close to the territorial creatures.

"These three dragons are Kogen, Cuvra and Talzreir, and they're Chinese Fireballs. If you want my opinion, this is my personal choice for the tournament. They're not the most dangerous, but when they're angry they shoot enormous clouds of fire. It'll be an absolute spectacle, yeah?" Charlie explained, his obvious passion for dragons showing in his voice. "Chinese Fireballs are accurate and precise, but not the fastest. If you wanted to beat one of these, you'd have to find some way to knock it out or to ourspeed it."

I took it all in, as did Dumbledore, who had informed Charlie that he would pick at the end. We continued on, trailing after the dragonologist. As we went higher and higher up the mountain, it started to get harder to breath, almost as if the air was thinning. The second place we visited was probably the highest elevation in the sanctuary. Once again, Charlie warned us to stay further back.

On the other side of the mountain was a beautiful silver dragon, with blue flames coming out of its nostrils and long yellow talons. Its skin was clad like plates of armor and its wings were narrow and angled in a way that covered the dragon's entire body. Its teeth were bared as if it were smiling revealing many small short teeth packed against each other in its mouth with sharpness that rivaled the two long bent horns on its head and the even longer talons on the peak of its two wings. It glowed in the cold air and gave off an aura of dominance.

The dragonologist cleared his throat. "This is the Swedish Short-Snout, known for its skin and its brilliant jets of blue fire that can reduce anything to ashes in the matter of seconds. It's also incredibly fast, making him, who by the way is named Konym, a very dangerous dragon," he explained before walking further away from the creature and towards a straight slope.

"We shouldn't stand there for too long," he explained once we had followed, "I don't want you two to get hurt, yeah? Now that we're safe, I'll explain further. As I mentioned, these dragons are fast and deadly, but the problem is that they are easily distracted. I think it's because they want to hit as many things as possible and they're easily irritated, but the point is that they'll hit anything and everything that moves in their view."

Our third stop was just below a ladder attached to the side of a ledge near the sheep munching on the tall stocks of grass. I mentally facepalmed for not noticing the green creature earlier as we climbed down. We were allowed to go closer to this dragon who, upon sensing our presence, simply got up and moved a little further from us not seeming angry at all. The dragon had two pointed horns on her head and sharp tips on the corners of each wing and her entire body was an olive green color with jagged rough scales on her belly that were a lighter shade of green.

"This is one of our many Common Welsh Greens," Charlie explained. "Her name is Ezzol. She's very calm, but can shoot narrow bursts of fire if provoked."

Dumbledore nodded. "Any specialities?"

"Her roar. The roar of a Common Welsh Green is quite beautiful really, almost like a special type of song," he answered. "I was contemplating showing you two this species, just because it's much tamer than the others. It's quite easy to stun or put to sleep, but if you anger it, many spells that usually work won't. I'm guessing the tournament is going to have something to do with making dragons angry, so a Common Welsh Green would be a solid choice."

We spent some more time with Ezzol, most likely because she wasn't as dangerous as the others, but after a while, Dumbledore indicated that he wanted to keep going.

Charlie nodded. Turning towards me, he said, "Sorry Lillian, but the next few dragons are quite dangerous, and since you're underaged I can't let you go. I'm not going to leave you here unattended, so I'll take you to my place instead. You can do whatever you want while you wait."

I couldn't help but slouch my shoulders and frown, feeling quite disappointed, but I understood, so I let Charlie grab my elbow and apparate me to his house. When the lurching stopped and I opened my eyes, I found myself in a small, dimly lit living room. There were pictures all around the walls of him on various adventures, joined by different groups of people.

An odd picture struck my eye. It was a young Charlie and another red headed boy, presumably another Weasley brother wearing smiles too big for their face and laughing. They were holding a piece of parchment with such pride in their eyes. The caption stated that they were at Hogwarts but it was in a room I had never seen before with a scary hooded figure in the background. I leaned in closer to the point where my eyes almost touched the glass as I squinted at the moving image trying to understand what it was.

Not being able to see, I decided to just ask Charlie when he got back and instead went around the house trying to find something to entertain myself. I ended up finding a puzzle which, I thought was quite weird for the adventure seeking dragonologist to have in his possession. I worked on it for hours later until Dumbledore arrived with charlie.

Immediately, Dumbledore quickly walked to another part of the home, I raised my eyebrow at Charlie, who laughed and told me my grandfather really needed to use the bathroom. "You can keep that by the way." Charlie said, waving his hands at the 10,000 piece puzzle in front of me. I started to refuse but he shook his head saying. "No really, you can. I only keep it for Bill when he comes to visit. He's mental, I swear."

I still nodded my head and started to undo the puzzle and place it back in the box, grinning when Charlie sighed and sat down on the floor helping me clean up. "Charlie? If you don't mind, could you tell me what that is," I stated, pointing at the image on the wall that captured my interest.

He stared at me for a while, before snapping out of whatever trace he was in. "Me and my brother, we were always a team. Bill was the smart one and I was the brave one and together we could do anything, but there was one thing we couldn't solve. Lillian, have you ever heard of the curse of the great vaults?"

I nodded my head. Having lived in Hogwarts all my life, I've held many conversations with the ghosts of the castle and their favorite thing to talk about was the legend of the cursed vaults. Up until now, I've always considered the "quest" to be a hoax created by bored spirits who wanted to share a good laugh scaring gullible first years. According to them, there were hidden passageways and vaults that connected to Hogwarts, and anyone who found them, and survived the trials, would be given a gift like no other.

"Bill and I, we wanted to find these vaults. Bill was a genius, he still is, and always finished his work early and I always waited till the last minute but I got things done, yeah?" He stared into space, a grin on his face. At his next words, though, his smile fell. "We were just bored. Wanted to pass time. So we talked to Nearly Headless Nick and found a map that led us to a supposed vault in the forest. We never got to find out, cause someone followed us and got killed." He spat, his fingers trembling.

I gasped, finally remembering why Charlie was so familiar to me. Years ago, when he was a student at Hogwarts and a boy named Jacob got killed by a wild creature in the forbidden forest causing said grounds to become banned from the student body without proper supervision. Charlie and his brother were the only ones there, the former staying long hours in Dumbledore's office every day following the incident, grieving and seeking counsel.

The man's rambling stopped my thoughts. "I don't know why I'm telling you this. I dunno. I guess I just want to finally let go of what's tying me down to all of that."

"I'm sorry for bringing this up," I whispered, swallowing thickly.

He smiled bitterly. "If I gave you that map, what would you do?"

"To be honest, after hearing this, I wouldn't try to find it. It's just not worth it." I replied, looking down at my black muggle sneakers, unable to meet his hollow gaze. The man before me was such a contrast to the one I saw in the sanctuary, a somber look haunted his face as he recalled the trarmour of the past.

Suddenly, he got up from the floor, walked towards a bookshelf and opened a book I couldn't see, pulling out the same scrap of parchment in the image. He held it far away from him as possible, regarding it with a look of repulsion, and walked over to me, placing the map into my hands. "Lillian, whether you decide to burn the map or to try to find the vaults, you must remember not to make the same mistakes I did. You can't." He begged, fiercely staring into my eyes.

Speechless, I nodded slowly and placed the folded paper into my pocket. I was about to ask him why he gave it to me when Dumbledore walked sheepishly into the room. "Sorry Charlie, Lilly. I got a little carried away with the pastries in your kitchen." Turning towards me, he asked, "Ready to go?"

I nodded again, feeling like a robot, and wordlessly latched onto my grandfather's arm.

* * *

We made it back home before night, stopping to eat in the Leaky Cauldron and get sweets at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. There, Dumbledore told me that I would be staying at Hogwarts until the Quidditch World Cup, which he had gotten free tickets for. It wasn't easy to keep the ill emotions in the back of my mind as the days went by but I tried my best and although my grandfather noticed I just brushed it off as disappointment in not being able to see all the dragons. I didn't tell a soul about what I had learned.

Finally, it was the day: August 25th. To be honest, Quidditch wasn't really my thing. There were many things I'd rather do than mount myself on a broomstick and throw balls at the opposing team and I used to have no interest in watching the sport either, but after Blaise became interested in joining the Slytherin team a few years ago I started to become more and more attentive to the point where I became excited to watch not only my own team play but other houses as well. Plus, the international tournament would be a fun time to spend with my grandfather, who I had been deprived of almost all of the summer holiday.

We left right at dusk, not bothering to bring any bags with us, as I would be leaving the tournament with the Malfoy's since Dumbledore had to leave early. Being two of the Minister's guests, our seats were in the Top Box, and apparently would be joined by the Malfoy family as well, due to their extravagant contribution to St. Mungo's.

Dumbledore and I landed at the campgrounds, where thousands of tents were scattered and raised with wizards from all over the world mingling with each other. I wasn't too shocked, as I have met many foregn public figures due to my grandfather's fame but I had never been to such a large event like this. Before I could fully process the spectacle before me, venders and salesmen started to pop up, setting up stalls filled with their merchandise.

Grandpa nudged me with his elbow and shook his money bag. "Shall we?"

I smiled, knowing that I wouldn't ask him to buy me anything but I decided to humor him. It was no secret he had a childish delight in purchasing useless trinkets. Grabbing onto his arm, I examined the booths as we ushered our way through the crowds.

There were many cute, purchase worthy things. For one, there were beautiful flower arrangements for sale: red rosettes for Bulgaria fans and green for Ireland fans. If you pressed any stem, the salesperson had warned, the flowers would burst to life and start to squeal the names of all the players on their team. Another stall sold Bulgarian and Irish flags that sang the respective national anthem when you grabbed the hilt and waved them around. It was a hit with the younger kids, who ran around the grounds waving them around like kites. My favorite booth was the one that sold collectible figures of the players. These miniature humans would fly on their brooms around your head occasionally perching on your shoulder.

I ended up not buying anything, as I had predicted but my grandfather bought various souvenirs, specifically a red and green scarf, with the former adorned with roaring lions and the latter bedazzled with dancing shamrocks. "Don't want to be biased." He winked, layering a green scarf onto himself and handing the red one to me.

We continued to roam around, greeting various figures such as the Minister of Magic and the Bulgarian Head of State and also a few Hogwarts students. Eventually, Dumbledore convinced me to buy omnioculars with my pocket money but only after he promised he would let me buy him a pair too. Handing over twenty galleons, I grabbed two, firmly thrusting the bigger ones to my grandfather.

Suddenly, a loud, booming gong sounded as a signal, causing green and red lanterns to light up in the woods and illuminate the way to the field. I squealed and looped my arm with Dumbledore's arm, letting him lead the way to our seats in the Top Box.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! An amazing thank you to my wonderful beta reader, @1saaa for correcting my horrendous mistakes. Have an amazing day, and stay safe :)


	4. Chapter 3

Feverish excitement filled the air as we walked through the woods. Dumbledore made a point to walk slowly, acknowledging everyone he knew that came into contact with us. I grew impatient with his old man act, as we moved through the forest at a snail's pace. The forest was long and although the path was illuminated by the vibrant red and green lanterns, there was no indication that we were anywhere near the end.

Half an hour later we made it to the end finding ourselves right behind the stadium. There was a long line of witches and wizards waiting to be seated. I could only see a fraction of the stadium from where we were standing but as we inched closer and closer to the entrance I got a better view of the stadium itself. The walls were made of gold that towered up to the sky. Sometimes across the gold walls images of the players would fly across demonstrating there various stunts from previous games. 

“Headmaster Dumbledore, so nice to see you!” the Ministry witch at the entrance exclaimed while checking our tickets. “I see you’ve brought your granddaughter with you as well.” I awkwardly smiled as she handed me back my ticket. “Best seats in the house! Top Box! Go straight upstairs, as high as you can possibly go. Enjoy!”

She opened the entrance door for us revealing royal purple stairs made of velvet that led to the stadium. We followed the rest of the crowd but they began to filter out through doors on our left and right as they found their rows. Dumbledore and I kept walking, our arms still linked, until we reached the top of the staircase in a box at the highest point of the stadium.

Inside the top box there were chairs made of velvet that matched the stairs placed orderly in two rows. From here we could see everyone around the oval stadium taking their seats, which rose in elevation as the rows increased in number. 

Surprisingly, no one was in the top box except a frail shivering house elf sitting in the second row. My grandfather ushered me into my seat, sitting down with me in the chair to my left as he pulled out snacks from his robes. 

“Grandpa how did you bring all this here? I thought snacks weren’t allowed,” I asked, grinning as he simply winked and placed his pointer finger onto his lips.

More and more people started to shuffle into the Top Box, the first of them being the Weasley family accompanied by Harry and Hermionie. I looked away as I saw Charlie and Bill take their seats, not wanting to meet the former's eyes. I wasn’t sure if he would be awkward after spilling his heart out to me but fortunately that wasn’t the case. He and Mr. Weasley made their way over, being the first to notice us in their party. 

“We meet again Headmaster,” he said, shaking my grandfather’s hand and putting his fist out for his muggle handshake. This time I knew what to do and lightly bumped my fist with his. He seemed much lighter and happier and I mentally facepalmed myself for thinking otherwise. 

Mr. Weasley and Dumbledore started conversing about things in hushed whispers I couldn’t catch onto, saying things about suggestions and payment, so I took Charlie’s invitation and walked over to his seat. 

“Hi!” I smiled, waving to the huge group. I had no clue who some of them were but I recognized the infamous twins and the trio, as well as Bill from the photo. Although they weren’t my preferred company, they were still nice. 

“This is Percy,” Charlie started, pointing at a skinny boy with thick ginger curls and freckles spotted across his nose, “And this is Bill, Fred and George, Ginny and I’m sure you know these three yeah?” Bill looked different from the image, now much taller and broader with his long hair tied into a ponytail and a dangly earring hanging on his left earlobe. 

“How do  _ you _ know Charlie?” Ron scowled, twiddling his thumbs around his scarf. Ginny elbowed him in the ribs, scolding him. 

“My grandfather introduced us.” I smiled innocently, not missing a beat. “Charlie assisted us this summer with a special task.”

Percy perked up, and looked at Charlie smugly. “Was it for the  _ secret _ event?” he asked, puffing out his chest. 

“No Percy, it was just for some help with the castle,” the dragonologist deadpanned, rolling his eyes. 

Percy looked around the party, as if he was waiting for someone to ask him what he knew that they didn’t but when everyone carried on, he deflated. 

Not paying him any attention, I sat down in an empty seat next to Hermione. “Are you lot excited?” I asked, lamely trying to start a conversation.

“Yeah. Can’t believe we’ve got tickets to the Top Box,” Ginny exclaimed, getting various agreements from the rest of the group. Ginny and I were a lot closer than I was with the others, having started our friendship after she was in a dark place with the cursed diary. She was like the younger sister I didn’t have.

“Gin, how have you been in?” I asked, nudging the younger girl. “I just got your owl the other day. Sorry for not writing back sooner. I haven’t been at Hogwarts  _ all summer.” _

She grinned and told me about her holiday, telling me all about her Quidditch practices, the twin’s inventions and spending the summer with Hermionie and Harry. I winked, knowing that she had a crush on the “Boy who Lived”, laughing as she blushed. 

Hermione, who was flipping through her program, groaned. “Why does everyone keep making a big deal out of Krum?” she complained. 

“Because he's a prodigy and he’s a nice guy too,” I replied in a matter of fact tone, ignoring Harry, who was most likely annoyed that Hermione and I were starting to argue, rubbing his temples.

She scoffed. “I think it's just because everyone is dead set on his good looks. I bet he’s an oaf that’s full of himself too.”

“Have you met him?” I asked, narrowing my eyes when she shook her head no. “Then how can you make a judgement on his character? Not everyone is as shallow as you think they are Granger.”

Hermione pursed her lips but before she could make a comment my grandfather called me over. I waved my goodbye to the group, not wanting to be rude, and walked over to my seat secretly glad for a means of exit. Cooped up with the Weasley’s and their friends, I hadn’t realized that important wizards and witches were slowly trickling into the Top Box. 

“This here is Lillian, my granddaughter.” Dumbledore introduced, not wasting any time. “Lillian, this is the Bulgarian Minister of Magic.”

I shook the man’s hand who was wearing long black robes made of Acromantula silk with gold embroidering, a common theme with many of the wizards seated around us. “Nice to meet you.” I smiled politely, bowing. 

“Nice to meet you as vell.” But, before I could sit down, the British Minister of Magic rushed over to us. 

“Dumbledore, so glad you could make it, and with your lovely granddaughter too,” Fudge chittered. 

My face turned red as I firmly shook his hand. I hated being addressed as ‘Dumbledore’s granddaughter’ by anyone other than my grandfather himself. Constantly in my grandfather’s shadow, it seemed as if everything I did was nothing compared to what the Hogwarts headmaster had accomplished. 

I sat down, not interested in the small talk they were making. The field was completely visible from where I was sitting and I could clearly see the three goal hoops at each end. In the center, there was an enormous blackboard flashed various advertisements ranging from Bluebottle, a broom company, to Gladrags, a clothing store. 

More and more government officials from around the globe started to pile into the Top Box. Out of respect, I rose and shook their hands, trying not to scowl at their choice to not even address me by my own name. 

The last to enter were the Malfoy’s, who after having a discussion with the Minister and the Malfoy’s, sat down right next to us. Draco was sitting to our right, with Narcissa and Lucius in the next two seats along. 

We greeted them, not wanting to be rude to the family that hosted me this summer and settled back into our seats right in time for Ludo Bagman, the announcer for the games to rush into the box. 

“Everyone ready?” he cheered, smiling so wide that he could barely contain it on his face. “Minister?”

“Ready” Fudge affirmed.

Bagman took out his wand and pointed it at his throat, exclaiming, “Sonorus!”. His voice was now amplified, enabling him to talk over the loud jeers and hollars of the crowd. 

“Ladies and gentlemen . . . welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!” he shouted, jumping up and down. 

The Top Box rumbled as the spectators below us whooped and shouted, flaunting around their merchandise to show everyone the team they were rooting for. The blackboard, which previously showed promotions, cleared up, now displaying the points, with both Ireland and Bulgaria at zero.

“Let’s now introduce the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!” The wizards on the right side of the stadium stood up and roared, their outfits and face paint resembling their pride for Bulgaria.

Thousands of veela floated onto the field dancing alluringly. I smothered a laugh as I watched Harry and Ron attempt to jump into the field. I glanced to my left but my grandfather, surprisingly, had no reaction to the beautiful women. On my right Draco gulped thickly but was held at the collar by his father, who reached over to scold him. 

People started to yell as the veela stopped dancing and glided to one side of the field, stopping only at the sound of Ludo Bagman’s voice. “Thank you for that wonderful performance,” he announced unphased, “Now, let’s welcome the Irish National Team Mascots!” 

Then, I heard a large whoosh as a mob of green and gold hurled into the stadium, zooming around the perimeter a few times. The leprechauns split up into two and propelled themselves to each end of the field, causing the left side of the stadium to roar, pumping their fists into the air at their mascot. A rainbow appeared spreading from one side of the stadium to the other connecting the shamrocks. As it faded the leprechauns merged together producing a blinding light. As the light simmered down, a single shamrock launched itself into the sky throwing down golden coins on the stands as it soared around the stands. The floor beneath me started to rumble again and witches and wizards fought to grab even a mere coin of gold. 

“Disgraceful blood traitors.” Mr. Malfoy mumbled, shaking his head at Ron collecting as many coins as he could, which made Draco snicker. 

The display dissolved and the leprechauns went to go sit on the opposite side of the veelas, ready to watch the match. Bagman introduced the players, starting with the Bulgarian team and then the Irish one. I cheered at each and every player, shouting the loudest at Krum’s name, causing Hermionie to turn back and look at me pointedly. Seeing my grandfather next to me, she quickly turned around, deciding to listen to Ron’s excited praises of the man instead. I smirked, satisfied. 

I had only talked to Krum once, on a visit to Durmstrang where he had given me a tour. His English was poor but he had done his best to show me around. I remembered him being sweet and welcoming, not prideful and cocky as Hermione thought he was. 

In the field, the Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa, unleashed the Quaffle, Bludgers, and the Snitch. He grabbed the whistle around his neck and blew into it and unable to contain my own excitement I let out a wild roar excited for the match to finally begin. 

I was unable to keep up, even with my omnioculars. The players zoomed left and right, the Blugarian players growing more and more desperate as Ireland brutally extended their lead.

Suddenly, a fight ensued between the mascots, after two fouls were announced against Bulgaria. The crowds were in an uproar with protests from the right and cheers from the left side of the stadium. The leprechauns flew into the air, provoking the veela from across the field by flashing them a rude sign, causing the veela to launch themselves at the shamrocks, throwing fire at them. The veela’s true nature was starting to show as they got angrier, their wings, beaks and talons becoming more and more prominent. 

Ministry officials quickly came to the scene, attempting but failing to separate the mascots from each other. The game continued, the players speeding so fast not even Ludo could keep up. 

Suddenly, the Irish Seeker started to dive. Krum, noticing, dived after him, and they were on par, racing for the golden, winged, snitch. I rose up from my seat, shouting to Dumbledore, who had also stood, “They’re going to crash!” I clenched his elbow tightly, not wanting to see any more players injured. 

“This is very exciting!” he responded without a care in the world, using his ominoculars to see better. 

They were neck in neck but out of nowhere Lynch hit the ground tumbling off his broom into a hoard of furious veela. I squinted, unable to make out Krum but as my vision focused I saw him raise his fist in the air, specs of gold in his hands. 

The blackboard showed the final score: Bulgaria- 160 to Ireland-170. The left side started to rumble, stomping their feet and clapping their hands as they let off wild cheers for their victory. Bulgarian fans shouted angrily, sulking in their seats. The green team flew around in their brooms through the air, laughing joyfully as their mascots put on a winning performance to the music of the Irish national anthem. 

Bagman shouted, effectively shutting up the crowd. “Now, the Quidditch World Cup will be presented in the Top Box!”

The space around us shined as two wizards carried a golden cup to Fudge. 

“Let’s have a really loud hand for the gallant losers — Bulgaria!” Bagman declared, clapping for the defeated looking players that walked into the box. Ludo called out each of their names as they shook hands with Fudge and their Minister of Magic. I smiled at Krum, who stood next to us as he waited and he nodded back appreciatively, still holding the Snitch. Bagman announced his name and as he made his way to the front, the crowd below us started to roar louder and louder as they celebrated the prodigy. 

“Now let's make some noise for our winners- Ireland!” The crowd hollered as the seven Irish players made their way up, bright smiles on their faces. The players adorned in scarlet shuffled to the other side of the box after shaking their Irish counterpart’s hands and watched as the Irish team was handed over the cup.

Ludo stopped his sound from echoing across the stadium uttering “Quietus.” Strangely, he started to fumble around with his money and handed over a bag of coins to the grinning twins before reliving the experience with Fudge. As the wizards and witches below us and the less political families started to pour out of the stadium and the Top Box, Dumbledore and I along with the Malfoy’s and the various other esteemed wizards stayed behind to socialize. For some reason, the odd house elf’s master never came to fetch her and so she stayed reserving Mr. Crouch’s seat through the whole night. 

By the end of the night, my right hand was sore from shaking so many hands and my throat was dry. I slipped away from my grandfather’s side and made my way to Krum, who had been swarmed with people all night. He was finally alone. “Hi Viktor! Do you remember me?” I asked, holding out my hand for him to shake.

“Yes. Lillian. I remember you very vell,” he exclaimed, clasping my hand in a firm handshake. 

I clapped my hands together. “You did amazing! Congratulations!” 

“No,” he started, looking quite crestfallen, “Ve lost badly. But ve vill do better next time.” His frown suddenly contorted into a small smile. “Ah, but I vill see you this year, yes?”

My eyes widened. “You know? Are you going back to Durmstrang to finish school? Will you enter the Tournament?” I questioned, but before I could get answers, his team captain hollered for him to come. 

“I am continuing my education because I vant to finish skool.” He started, rushing his words so he didn’t fall behind his teammates who were descending the stairs, “And ve shall see. Headmaster vants me to enter but I am not sure. I need a break.” And with that he waved goodbye quickly, telling me that we would continue at school, and ran after his teammates. 

The sky began to get darker and darker so I made my way to the Malfoy family, who had just finished up his conversation with the Irish Minister of Magic, after hugging my grandfather goodbye. 

We had decided beforehand that me leaving with the family that hosted me this summer would be the most efficient since I still had belongings at their household. Dumbledore assured me that either him or Uncle Severus would come to pick me up within a week's time so that I could spend the final days of summer with them. 

Feeling out of place, I stood next to Mrs. Malfoy as she and her husband conversed with a Bulgarian politician. Once the family was done, they started to shift down the stairs. “Draco.” Mrs. Malfoy said, sharing a knowing look with her son. He didn’t respond, simply making his way down the stairs behind his father. 

“Have a nice night!” the Ministry witch hollered as we left the entrance and walked into the woods. The lanterns were all green now, rubbing in the Irish victory. 

We walked in silence. Around halfway through the forest when the apparition barriers were crossed Narcissa whipped out her wand and fanished. Mr. Malfoy abruptly stopped and shared a knowing look with his son. “Draco, I trust that you and Miss Dumbledore can go home  _ safely _ ? I have some business to attend to. I expect that you will arrive at the Manor immediately, yet?”

He stalked off, his chin held high and his pride held higher, leaving Draco and I alone. “How are we getting to your house?” I asked. 

“We are going to stay here for a little while.” At my protests, he scoffed, saying, “Well Dumbledore, if you know how to get back to my Manor by yourself, be my guest. Have fun wandering around.”

I huffed, realizing I was stuck waiting until Draco wanted to leave. As much as I loathed him, I hated awkward silence more so I tried to start a conversation. “Did you enjoy the match?”

Draco didn’t answer, instead looking through a hole in the trees as if he was waiting for something to happen. I repeated myself and this time he acknowledged me. “Yeah,” he said, looking quite bored and impatient, “It was fun. One day I’ll be up there. I’m an excellent flyer you know.” His blank face transformed into a cruel sneer. “My favorite part was when the veela and shamrocks bloodied each other up. Oh, and when Weaselbee tried to fish for gold coins. That was pathetic.”

I frowned. “Just because Ron isn’t as fortunate as-”

“Cut the crap Dumbledore. You and I both know the wizarding world is better off without blood traitor scum like his lot. Just look at his company. The Mudblood and Saint Pottah.” he spat. 

“Are you serious Malfoy?” My blood boiled at his smug smirk. 

I wasn’t exactly fond of the golden trio. Harry and I had nothing in common other than being famous for something we couldn’t control and I hated how my grandfather had such a big place for Potter in his heart. Hermionie and I didn’t get along because her know-it-all personality grated my nerves. Ron, being overprotective about his best friend, often took jibes at me when I was stating the obvious about Granger, causing him and I not to see eye to eye on a lot of things. 

Although we weren’t close, there was a point in time when we were tighter than glue. Back in my first year, Dumbledore had asked me to befriend Harry, and somehow that resulted in me getting roped into their various adventures every year. That’s probably the reason why I considered them friends, if not strong acquaintances. 

However, just because I didn’t like someone doesn’t mean I would tolerate malicious comments made on their behalf, which was what Draco was doing right now. Before I could make a smart comeback, a chorus of screams erupted from the campgrounds in front of us. People started to run, their frantic panting and irregular pace causing an atmosphere of fear and panic. 

I stared horrified as Draco made himself comfortable at a nearby tree. “What’s going on?”

He grinned sinisterly. “I haven’t got a clue.” said Draco innocently as he directed my gaze to the chaos happening in front of us. 

There were four figures limply floating in the sky. Below them, a group of wizards wearing dark hoods and masks whistled and roared with laughter, proud of the spectacle they had caused. I immediately recognized them as muggles from the derogatory names they were called as they were forced in humiliating positions against their will. As the crowd of dark wizards grew larger, they destroyed more of the campgrounds, shooting fire and flashes of green light with their wands.

Horrified, I turned my head away. I didn’t want to watch this any longer. Draco on the other hand, was relaxed, watching the event unfold behold him as if it was an honor to be in the premise. I put two and two immediately. “Your father is in that crowd, isn’t he?” 

He winked and turned away from me. “Well, with feet that size, hard not to.” he drawled.

I looked around, not understanding who he was talking to, but as angry footsteps came closer towards us I figured it out. Ron, Harry and Hermione stalked towards us, shocked looks on their faces from seeing us together. 

I flashed an awkward smile while Ron started shouting curses. 

Draco grinned. “Language, Weaslebee.” he taunted. “Shouldn’t you three be running off? Don’t want her spotted, do you?” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hermionie asked angrily. 

“For a self-proclaimed genius you sure are an idiot. They’re after Muggle’s, Granger. I’m sure they could smell a Mudblood from a thousand meters away. D’you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around . . . they’re moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh.” he jeered.

Harry and Ron stepped in front of Hermione protectively. “Watch your mouth!” Ron shouted. If it wasn’t for Granger holding him back I’m sure they would’ve started fighting physically. 

“Shut up, all of you. Hermione is in danger and you three are here having an ego contest.” I interjected, fighting the urge to slap my palm across my face. I may not like the girl but I definitely didn’t want her hurt.

Granger flashed me a look of surprise. She looked like she was going to say something, but Ron interrupted, saying, “Oh, and you care so much don’t you? And yet, you’re here with  _ Malfoy. _ ” he snarled.

“And that would be none of your business.” Draco said cooly. I turned to him and raised a brow, but he simply shrugged lazily.

“Come on.” Hermionie pleaded, tugging on her friend’s arms. She finally convinced them to continue on the path, but not before Harry and Ron turned around and gave Draco one last ugly glare. Even as they left, they continued to angrily shout. “I bet his parents are out there….” one of the boy’s said, but they were too far for me to make it out clearly.

In that moment, a bright flash of green light blinded us. Screams followed, causing the Malfoy heir to laugh softly.

“What’s your deal?” I asked accusingly. “Do you enjoy this?”

“They aren’t dying, are they? It’s just drunken fun. Loosen up, will you?” he replied hotly. 

Suddenly, somewhere near the campsite, a loud, booming voice shouted, “MORSMORDRE!” 

The dark sky filled with green swirls that finally settled, revealing a large skull with a serpent coming out of its mouth like a tongue. I immediately recognized it as the Dark Mark, and as I peeled my eyes off the symbol and looked at Draco, I finally saw horror in his features. The green smoke clouded the air, filling the people around us with fear. 

The group of hooded figures, upon seeing the mark, vanished, leaving no trace of their spectacle other than the four muggles who came crashing down onto the ground. Thankfully, a few wizards, one of whom I recognized as Charlie, were able to slow their landing. 

“We’ve got to go, Dumbledore,” Draco frantically said. “We need to get home  _ now _ .”

He grabbed my elbow and started to run, dragging me along. In the distance, I made out Ministry Officials popping in the scene of the crime, yelling curses and jinxes to a figure who I assumed was the one who casted the mark into the sky. I smirked. Justice was being served. We ran through the path, but at the end, there was a huge mob of frightened witches and wizards, all talking in hushed whispers. 

With no other choice, we pushed through the crowd. I had the manners to at least say a polite, “Excuse me.” My companion did not but I wasn’t in the mood to nitpick on the little things. 

“What should we do?” I asked, once we had reached a clearing, whipping out my wand. 

“Are you mad? Don’t try to apparate. We’ll get splinched for sure!” he scolded. 

“No you idiot, I’m trying to get some light.” I rubbed my temples. Lumos,” I incanted, glaring at Draco as my wand lit up. 

Although the area we were in was dark, my light, along with Draco’s after he lazily copied me, was enough to illuminate a clear pathway to a line of portkeys.

“That’s the one we used.” Draco explained, pointing to a large golden statue. I rolled my eyes. Of course the Malfoy’s, and the other dignified families who lived in the area, wouldn’t want to bend down and touch an ordinary object to travel. We walked over and placed our hands on the relic, allowing us to transport us to the front of Malfoy Manor in a series of twists and turns.

To my surprise, my godfather was inside the manor. His face was emotionless but I could tell he was worried from the way fiddled with the hem of his sleeve. My suitcases were stacked next to him as he conversed with the Malfoy’s in their front porch. 

Draco and I glanced at each other. I decided to speak first, hoping he would take my lead and go with the lie. “Mr. Malfoy, we’re so sorry for delaying our travel home. The ministry officials blocked up our path to the portkeys. There was some chaos happening in the campgrounds. Did you hear?” I said innocently, keeping a poker face throughout. I crossed my fingers internally, praying that Draco wouldn’t expose me and would save both of our hides. Uncle Severus would kill me if he knew I was anywhere near danger tonight. 

The youngest Malfoy cleared his throat. “Yeah, no one was allowed to pass, but eventually we pushed past everyone and made it to the portkey’s.” 

The three adults looked at us for a moment. “It’s good you made it back safe,” Mrs. Malfoy said, ending the discussion. 

Quickly, Snape instructed me to say my thanks to my gracious hosts, and once I did, he slowly walked over and grabbed my arm, apparating us into Hogwarts. 

This time, I didn’t fall asleep. 

(break)

For the rest of holiday I stayed with Uncle Severus, since Dumbledore was running around with last minute Tournament preparations. We mostly stayed cooped up inside at Spinster’s End and other than for a visit to Diagon Alley for supplies I did not leave for the rest of the holidays. He stayed up late, writing lesson plans and making potions. I kept him company, reading an array of books on his shelf. His library was more thorough than the Malfoy’s so I found myself adding more and more notes to Sirius’ case. This was all done in private, of course, since Uncle Snape and Black had been, and still were, on horrible terms. My godfather didn’t even know that I helped him escape. 

After the World Cup had gone into a disaster both my grandfather and godfather had been much more worried about me than they usually were. It was characteristic of Uncle Snape but for Dumbledore to be visibly panicked when I came home that day was shocking. I didn’t think much of it, especially since the Dark Mark was casted; If Voldemort’s followers really were banding together, I may get thrown into the mess due to my relation with their master’s enemy. 

I wasn’t looking forward to it but I would put my life on the line for my family, no matter what the circumstances were. One thing I was looking forward to, though, was the Triwizard Tournament. I may not be old enough to enter but I was ready to watch the spectacle and show off my Hogwarts pride. 

Uncle Severus and I traveled to Hogwarts a few hours before school officially started. The Ministry had wanted me to stay away from the castle for as much time as possible because they thought I wasn’t aware of the secret event taking pace. 

Once we arrived, the Potions professor went to his chambers to change into clean robes. I decided to just wander around, since I had changed into my uniform and had gotten ready beforehand. 

In the Great Hall, one set of house elves were getting everything ready, placing clean golden plates and goblets onto the four long tables, and the other set were scrubbing the walls and floor clean. Everyone seemed to be working extra hard to prep up the school this term. 

My grandfather was up at the Staff table, putting a few pieces of parchment paper atop his podium. Not wanting to bother him, I sat at the Slytherin table, looking up at the hanging candles while waiting. 

“Lillian! I didn’t see you there! Ah, do you mind fixing my hat for me dear?” he said, bending down to my level. “I don’t want to be upstaged by the first years tonight!”

I stifled a giggle and complied, but as my fingers brushed over his forehead, I felt a familiar pain in my heart.

My mind started to flash and suddenly my eyes went black. In front of me, I saw men hauling a younger version of my grandfather into what looked like a cell. He was pale and frail but not once did Dumbledore resist. A haunted look etched onto his face but he held himself the same way he did now: in humility. Suddenly, the scene changed and a healthier Dumbledore was engulfing himself in another man’s touches. The man had platinum hair as white as snow, with eyes that didn’t match. Then, my grandfather fell off his chair and the floor beneath him vanished. 

The vision changed, transporting Dumbledore and I to the astronomy tower. A green light swallowed my grandfather and he tumbled down to the ground. Glancing down at my hands I saw them both soaked with crimson blood. Horrified, I realized that I was clutching onto a wand with my left hand, pointing it in his direction. 

My vision snapped back into reality and I felt the sudden urge to hurl. Turning my head upwards, I came face to face with the concerned eyes of my grandfather. 

I was overwhelmed with emotions— fear, disgust, anxiety, relief. Unable to contain myself, I burst into tears and threw my arms around my grandfather. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you liked the chapter, comment below and leave a kudos :) Stay safe, and have an amazing day!


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